Count of Five
by FreezePride
Summary: Most of the time, mom and dad really do know best. Aeleus and Even talk some sense into their spoiled little Zexion. ((This was a prompt that asked, 'What would happen if Ienzo ever went back to being Zexion'))


How it had gotten this far, Even would never really be entirely certain, but it seemed somehow fitting. They stood in the deep basements, in the remnants of the labyrinthine labs which Ienzo had begged Ansem to make, pleaded with him to see the reason of how much good they could accomplish if he would just put a little bit more trust in his apprentices and their brilliance; when he had so carefully sharpened the knife he would later stick into the master who could only see his potential through eyes filled with pitying tears for a child who had lost his childhood. The poor dear. Perhaps Ienzo had dwelled just a bit too long on that before he betrayed him entirely.

And how resplendently the darkness suited Zexion when they had been sacrificed to Kingdom Hearts.

Aeleus stood to Even's side, and the scientist cast him a quick, unsure glance. The guardian's expression had not changed. If anything, something about him suggested a grim determination which Even didn't entirely understand, but found that it somehow resonated in some way shape or form to him as well.

After they had re-awoken in the castle, Even thought that their troubles were finally left in the wake of their grievous decisions. But, this was not so for everyone. No, Ienzo had different plans.

Ienzo had escaped at first light. He was Zexion once again by the glowing dusk of that very day.

Was that despair in Even's eyes? In the subtle paling of his face? Zexion watched him with a hint of inwardly glee. He was getting absolutely nothing from Aeleus, as expected (that man was far too wise to let his emotions slip, even for a heartbeat). Zexion drew his power about him, absolutely glowing with strength which he had never dreamed to have the ability to wield before. His single, visible golden eye shooting it's piercing gaze at his former companions. "It's beautiful, isn't it? This is refined, controlled power at it's finest." He intoned, loving the sound, the deep power of his voice echoing back to him through the shadows of the disused laboratory.

Even sighed, was that exasperation this time? The academic was...frustrated?

"I've come to collect the both of you." Zexion began, finally gaining traction as words came to him effortlessly, flawlessly as the darkness swirled around his smaller, slim form. "Your hearts are very powerful, you see. It is not your servitude which he desires, and I've come to offer you power. It is foolish to fight against Xehan-"

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop." Even cut in, waving his hands as though trying to waft a foul smell from his nose and clear the air. Zexion would have plowed onward, but Even always had the uncanny ability to cut into any conversation with a nagging tone and a surprisingly well-proposed argument, no matter what sort of threats were being leveled or offers proposed.

"I'm sure that was a very beautiful and flowery speech you've rehearsed, Zexion, but I am running off of coffee fumes, next to no sleep and _very_ little patience." He put his slender hands on his hips and Zexion had the uncanny impression that he had heard this tone time and time again. When had that been...?

When he had broken the test tubes? When he had freed all of the lab rats? When he had stolen all of the lab's rubber gloves because he wanted to see if he could make a bungie cord from them?

With a note of dread and indignation, Zexion realized what was about to occur and how very useless he was at stopping it.

"Now, I have to admit, it's not an entirely huge surprise that you would give in to darkness, Ienzo. You were always fairly weak when it came to willpower." Even snipped. "But this is absolutely ridiculous. I appreciate the grandeur, and the very subtle implications with bringing us down to the old labs, but you're wasting all of our time and I do not appreciate it."

Zexion was confused, and the fact that neither Even nor Aeleus seemed deterred by his newly found power was far from promising. "Wasting your-"

"Now, I just want to say that Aeleus and I are not angry with you." Even continued, giving the guardian a brief sidelong glance, to which Aeleus nodded subtly, yet his expression did not even slightly waver. "We're just disappointed."

"So, what are you-" Zexion was almost afraid to ask.

"We're bringing you back, whether you like it or not." Aeleus finally interjected as Even looked as though he were about to lecture for another half hour or so. Even shot him a look, to which the guard huffed at.

Even rolled his eyes and with a shrug of allowance, he nodded. "Precisely that."

Zexion stared at them, letting a beat of a moment pass before he decided to speak once again. "You intend on dragging me back to the side of light, where they hate us? Where they use us? Where there is no promise of any sort of cohesive victory and only the painful destruction of defeat and death? Where we will never be valued, never be thought of as human or trustworthy?" He looked up at Aeleus, his wide eyes looking surprisingly innocent, so much like the boy he once was, playing with beakers and chemicals, and trying to make himself known to his elders. "You know just as much as I do that they will never respect us."

"You're coming home to us." Aeleus answered rather bluntly. He certainly had not yelled but he might as well have screamed it for the silence it caused between. The guard crossed his arms tree-trunk sized arms over his barrel chest and stood his ground, looking more solid than a mountain.

"I'll never." Zexion hissed. "You're abandoning me to a life alone within the darkness. So be it! I'll kill-"

"You have until the count of five before I come over there to get you." Aeleus boomed. Zexion came to a jarring stop, mid-sentence, mid-word, mid-thought, mouth hanging wide open.

Aeleus _never_ yelled at him.

"Five." He held up all the fingers of his massive hand. Zexion's mind raced between possibilities. Perhaps he could persuade them still. He had been so ridiculously assured that both of them would crumble upon seeing him in his darkness ridden state once again. That they would flock to support him, to protect him. The answer had seemed so very simple to him.

"You're leaving me alone within the darkness!" Zexion bitingly accused.

"Four." One finger removed. Zexion's heart would have been pounding if he had one to boast. Even groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking down at the young nobody with all hints of impatience now barely concealed. His foot clacked smartly on the floor, as though ticking off the seconds he which he had to suffer through this scenario.

Zexion lashed out, his powers withdrawing into him as his mind raced to continue his arguments. "See reason! The both of you are making a grave mistake. My unyielding powers shall drag the both of you into the darkness and-"

"Three." Aeleus's deep voice cut through Zexion's threats, turning all of his well-thought out plans into needless, irrelevant yipping.

"Ienzo, for heaven's sake-" Even groaned, as though fighting back a migraine from reasoning with a child's temper tantrum.

"My name is Zexion!" He shrieked. "I'm far more powerful than-"

"Ienzo, pull yourself together!" Of course Even's shrill tones could shredded through Zexion's like tissue paper. The scientist gestured wildly around the room as he plowed onward. "Did you really think that we'd fall for the same trick twice? Think that we'd be able to save you the same way we had tried before, by following you into the darkness? I'll admit, I've made some pretty idiotic mistakes before in my life, but to make it twice, I'd have to be quite as ineffective as Lea with a keyblade. Furthermore-"

"Two."

A moment passed between the three of them. Aeleus's stone-faced glare was locked on to Zexion. Unreadable. Impassive. Driven. Zexion was looking between Even and Aeleus, finally settling on Even hopefully as though he might suddenly decided that being eaten alive by the darkness once again sounded like a splendid idea. Even seemed to have another notion.

Even lashed out in a panic. "Good lord, Ienzo! What are you thinking? Can't you see the mistake you're making? For the love of all that is scientific, just get over here. Stop waxing poetic about "Oh, darkness this." and "Power that." You sound like an idiotic parrot to every single idea that Xemnas butchered! You're just digging yourself in deeper!"

"Even, SHUT UP." Zexion snapped.

"Don't you tell me to 'Shut up'!" Even pointed an accusing finger. "I washed your mouth out with soap once, I can do it again. Just give in! You belong here. You belong home. We can still salvage this, but for all that is based in reason and solid fact, you MUST abandon this obsession with the illusion of power, of control! Get over here!" He demanded. "I'm trying to save you the-"

"One."

Even and Zexion froze and looked at Aeleus, holding their breath. Aeleus held up one single, solitary digit, his eyebrows knit with frustration, his mouth set into a grim line, a single number spoken through teeth clenched with frustration. Even gulped audibly, taking a nervous step back. Zexion's eyes widened.

Aeleus slowly unfolded his massive arms. He cracked his neck effortlessly with a jerk of his head, though his eyes never left his target.

"When I was little, you gave me ten seconds." Zexion whimpered.

Aeleus's eyes narrowed humorlessly. To this day, Even still could not recall if the guard had even needed to take that first step forward before Zexion had cut in.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" The former child-prodigy held up his shaking hands in surrender. "I'm coming now." He gave an awkward little step forward before sprinting up before Aeleus, noting how the muscles in his guardian's shoulders visibly relaxed. He tried to hide the shaking in his voice as he spoke.

"...You're mad at me?" Zexion mumbled.

Aeleus shook his head, taking a moment to rub his temples.

"You're mad at me." Zexion repeated.

Aeleus paused this time, his frown deepening.

"You ARE mad at me!" Zexion moaned in despair.

"No." Aeleus finally responded, placing a hand softly on the young man's shoulder. "Not mad. Worried, yes. Upset, oh yes. But never angry." He looked to Even, whose small, peculiar smile seemed to be questioning their good luck. That their plan had gone off without a hitch. That never happened. "We were afraid that you had gone too far." He gave Zexion's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We needed to come and pick you up. Ienzo, you are still part of this household."

Zexion looked down, trying to hide the small smile which was growing on his face. "Alright. we can give Sora a visit so he can set me straight once again. But," With a frown he looked up at both Even and Aeleus, quite determined. "if anyone asks, this was one of the hardest battles of your life and you had to drag me back from the brink of darkness with all the power contained within your weakened beings. You understand?" He glanced back and forth between the scientist and the guard.

Even giggled hysterically. Aeleus groaned, the migraine he had been keeping at bay finally overtaking his brain. Zexion frowned.

Upon becoming whole once again, Ienzo would later realize that his family was absolutely insane. He wouldn't trade them for the world.


End file.
